Local implementation of Japan’s Integrated Studies reform: a preliminary analysis of efforts to decentralise the curriculum

This article examines the goals and consequences of an educational reform introduced in all Japanese schools beginning in 2002. The Integrated Studies (IS) programme was designed to increase teacher autonomy and to augment student interest in learning. The reform has the potential to alter significantly the way education is organised and delivered in Japan, yet outside the country very little is known about it. This preliminary study of IS provides valuable insights into the effects of the programme at the local level, teachers’ views about educational reform, and the Ministry of Education’s ability to facilitate change in the schools.